Hi! I am Talia. I live in Ohio with my husband and 4 children, aged 9 months-8 years old. I stay at home with the kids, learning through life, and trying to have lots of fun.

What is the passion that drives you to collect adventures?

This question was a bit of a challenge for me. As I tried to narrow down my passions, and I enjoy a diverse range of activities, I kept circling back to the one thread that connected all of them: my kids. All of my adventures are best had with them by my side. My joy in hiking our local trails, or trying foods from various cultures, or discovering new to me local places to explore, is multiplied tenfold when I see the adventure through their eyes. We love to do all of those things. You can find us checking out loads of different parks, museums, aquariums, and amusement parks. If there is a big rock to climb, a creek to play in, or sticks to pretend with, then we are there. If we can play around with art supplies, do a science experiment, or play with animals, then we are all over it.

How did you discover this passion?

Sure, I had some interests before having children, but I had never left the stage of dabbling in a little of this or that. I had tried on many “hats,” such as running, hiking, and yoga, but nothing ever felt like it stuck. I became a mother fairly young at 21. I knew I wanted to give my daughter an awesome life. However, it wasn’t until I saw her zest for adventure, did I truly feel passionate about finding adventure for myself.

Hiking is so refreshing, and seeing a waterfall can be breathtaking, but seeing the look on my kids’ faces when they see it, takes the whole experience to another level. One of my favorite unexpected discoveries in life has been how we don’t even need these huge experiences to have a day of adventure. A child can see a ladybug on a leaf, and it can spur 100 questions, making their entire day. After seeing the wonder that fills in their eyes over seemingly small, ordinary things, I learned to seek adventure in the every day. We don’t have to go far from home or spend tons of money. We can go to our local park, trail, museum, or even in our own yard and find adventure.

What is your favorite memory from one of your adventures?

We are homeschoolers, and more specifically, unschoolers. We live life, provide lots of fun experiences, and ask a ton of questions. Some of my favorite adventures are ones that I can see sparked questions, and I can look back and see the learning that occurred so naturally. One of my favorites occurred when we took a hike on a local trail that we had never been to before. How much can you learn from one hike? On this particular hike, we talked about plant identification, the geography of the Great Miami River, the history of Ohio in terms of how old some very large trees were. My oldest found the dirt was perfect for practicing writing messages in, and they all found the river was perfect for exploring to see which sticks and pebbles would float or sink. We observed deer, spotted beautiful flowers, and made art on the ground with dirt and sticks. A simple hike turned into a day filled with adventure and learning. That was a few years ago, but the memory of the joy we all had from it remains very present in my mind.

If you could give someone advice about pursuing their passions and collecting adventures, what would it be?

Keep it simple. Adventure can start small. Find it wherever you are, whatever circumstance, seek it.

If you had to plan an adventure with little or no budget, what would you do and why?

I have plenty of experience with this one. Our go-to adventure is picking a park with some trails. If it has a creek, that is even better. It can be a favorite or one that is new to you. Pack some snacks. Adventure is always better when you have yummy snacks. Go in with no expectations as to what you will find and explore. Throw rocks in the creek, get muddy, climb the rocks, play with the sticks, look for the animals, spot a pretty flower, have a spontaneous stick light-saber fight in the woods. Most importantly, be playful. Play isn’t just for kids. Some of our very best days were spent walking, playing, and laughing.

What are 3-5 MUST HAVE items you always pack when traveling?

1. Food. Everyone stays happier when they have full tummies, and nothing turns a frustrating mood around faster than a delicious snack.
2. Change of clothes and shoes in the car. We like to say yes as much as possible. Yes to mud and yes to getting wet. If we have extra clothes for everyone, it isn’t a worry.
3. I know this one might go against the grain, but, we don’t leave the house without our tablets. We embrace technology, and all of us find lots of value in our phones and tablets. Sometimes the kids aren’t so sure about checking out a new place because of the drive, but having a show or game to play in the van solves that issue for them. I find that we all have the best adventure when each of us willingly participates, so if one of us needs to take a break, or isn’t ready to join in, having a device to listen to music, or play a game on for that person really helps our outings go peacefully.

What are 5 fun facts or quirks that not many people know about you?

1. I feel refreshed and alive taking a hike on a beautiful day. Despite my love of nature, I absolutely hate bugs. I do the stereotypical scream every single time a creepy crawly is on me. It can make every hike more interesting, to say the least.
2. My kids have a lot of freedom to explore on our outings, and we try to find a way to say yes to most requests. I love how they have learned their own boundaries and what feels safe for them because of it. What they don’t see is that I am actually an internal mess who fights against catastrophic thinking. I have to fight against my first instinct to wrap them in bubble wrap and let them explore. This isn’t always easy for me, despite how it looks to onlookers.
3. I kind of hate water, or at least I hate being in deep water. I kind of have a phobia of going underneath water unexpectedly, so my anxiety is high when we are swimming, on a paddle boat, or even at waterparks. I still go and try to make the best of it.
4. I grew up eating a fairly standard American diet, and I rarely tried new foods. Now as an adult, my best adventures include eating at new places, especially if it is a cultural experience that is new to me. Can you kind of sense the food theme here? I am a bit of a foodie at heart.
5. Despite never really being a “gamer” as a child, I game some now. My kids love to play computer games, pokemon, console games, and virtual reality games, and I have found it really is a lot of fun to play with them, and it builds our connection. They are way better than me in almost all of them, although I will always remain the Super Mario Brothers champion of the house.

How can people connect with you?

You can find me here:

• Our Crazy Joyful Life
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter

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